Script:Interviewer: Jane Y.
Interviewee: Uncle (JongTae L.)
interviewer: Thank you for allowing me to interview you Mr.Lee.
interviewee: No problem.
interviewer: OK. To go to the meat of the conversation, I’ve heard that you have moved from a place to another. Correct?
interviewee: Yes.
interviewer: Specifically where to where did you move?
interviewee: I moved from Korea to Canada. To be exact, I moved from GaePo-dong to Ottawa.
interviewer: Could you briefly explain the atmosphere of GaePo-dong back then? Anything about GaePo-dong would be sufficient.
interviewee: GaePo-dong is in GangNamGu, which is the center of Seoul. So, without me explaining, it is quite obvious that it is a nice place to live in. It has nice transportation. Bus and subway stations could be reached in no longer than fifteen minutes, isn’t that incredible? Also, unlike the other places in GangNamGu, it has a great scenery, because it is near the mountains, such as Daemo Mountain and Guryong Mountain. Furthermore, it had a great educational opportunity, for it had different kinds of schools near it. Examples would be a Japanese school and Korea International School. Yes...it was certainly a nice place to live in.
interviewer: If it was such a nice place to live, what were the pull factors, in other words, your motivation, to go to Canada?
interviewee: I didn’t have any choice. I was forced to go.
interviewer: Could you elabor...
interviewee: It was in 1998. During IMF. That time, my two children were pretty small; twelve years old, and nine years old. I was a director of a small chemical engineering company of Hyundai group. Unfortunately, in those days my company went bankrupt, and the CEO blamed me. And therefore, I became the one who was responsible for all of the debts that the company owed. It...It was a huge amount of money. I couldn’t handle it.
interviewer: Oh...I’m sorry. Is that why you went abroad?
interviewee: Yes, because the debtors were looking for me all over the place. They came, knocking on my door asking for money. My house was being sold by auction.
interview: Could you tell us more about what they did?
interviewee: ...
interview: Mr. Lee?
interviewee: They sticked red labels on my furniture. I still remember the red labels sticked on TV, computer, refrigerator.
interviewer: I’m sorry, but what exactly are red labels?
interviewee: If you have your furniture sticked with red labels, it means that they are on sale. You lose your right to keep your property when you can’t pay the debts back. You are forced to sell everything that you have.
interviewer: Oh...I see. Please continue.
interviewee: Not only that, but also, my wife and I could not open savings accounts with our own names. My wife and I were both worried about unreasonably expensive educational expenses in Korea. Back then, I felt so sorry for the older child. He was gifted. He had the ability to learn. So, we wanted him to study abroad and become a successful person. We believed that receiving education abroad is more efficient than staying in Korea.
interviewer: I can’t imagine the amount of stress that you got during this event.
interviewee: Due to extreme stress, my wife suffered a detachment of a retina and therefore had to receive a surgery. I remember my first son crying in my wife’s hospital.
interviewer: Although we are aware of some of the push factors, what were some factors that made you want to stay where you were?
interviewee: Fortunately I had worked in Ottawa for two years in the past. However, I have never thought of living there permanently. I knew that my family and I were going to have a hard time, trying to adapt to the new environment. Not only that, but also, we had to suffer from cultural difference. It felt like as if I’m borrowing and living in someone else's house. Also, the fact that we are from different country, put on a limitation in job opportunities. More than everything, the fact that we were forced to go really stressed us out.
interviewer: Thank you, Mr. Lee for your honest answers!
interviewee: No problem.
Script:Interviewer: Jane Y.
Interviewee: Uncle (JongTae L.)
interviewer: Thank you for allowing me to interview you Mr.Lee.
interviewee: No problem.
interviewer: OK. To go to the meat of the conversation, I’ve heard that you have moved from a place to another. Correct?
interviewee: Yes.
interviewer: Specifically where to where did you move?
interviewee: I moved from Korea to Canada. To be exact, I moved from GaePo-dong to Ottawa.
interviewer: Could you briefly explain the atmosphere of GaePo-dong back then? Anything about GaePo-dong would be sufficient.
interviewee: GaePo-dong is in GangNamGu, which is the center of Seoul. So, without me explaining, it is quite obvious that it is a nice place to live in. It has nice transportation. Bus and subway stations could be reached in no longer than fifteen minutes, isn’t that incredible? Also, unlike the other places in GangNamGu, it has a great scenery, because it is near the mountains, such as Daemo Mountain and Guryong Mountain. Furthermore, it had a great educational opportunity, for it had different kinds of schools near it. Examples would be a Japanese school and Korea International School. Yes...it was certainly a nice place to live in.
interviewer: If it was such a nice place to live, what were the pull factors, in other words, your motivation, to go to Canada?
interviewee: I didn’t have any choice. I was forced to go.
interviewer: Could you elabor...
interviewee: It was in 1998. During IMF. That time, my two children were pretty small; twelve years old, and nine years old. I was a director of a small chemical engineering company of Hyundai group. Unfortunately, in those days my company went bankrupt, and the CEO blamed me. And therefore, I became the one who was responsible for all of the debts that the company owed. It...It was a huge amount of money. I couldn’t handle it.
interviewer: Oh...I’m sorry. Is that why you went abroad?
interviewee: Yes, because the debtors were looking for me all over the place. They came, knocking on my door asking for money. My house was being sold by auction.
interview: Could you tell us more about what they did?
interviewee: ...
interview: Mr. Lee?
interviewee: They sticked red labels on my furniture. I still remember the red labels sticked on TV, computer, refrigerator.
interviewer: I’m sorry, but what exactly are red labels?
interviewee: If you have your furniture sticked with red labels, it means that they are on sale. You lose your right to keep your property when you can’t pay the debts back. You are forced to sell everything that you have.
interviewer: Oh...I see. Please continue.
interviewee: Not only that, but also, my wife and I could not open savings accounts with our own names. My wife and I were both worried about unreasonably expensive educational expenses in Korea. Back then, I felt so sorry for the older child. He was gifted. He had the ability to learn. So, we wanted him to study abroad and become a successful person. We believed that receiving education abroad is more efficient than staying in Korea.
interviewer: I can’t imagine the amount of stress that you got during this event.
interviewee: Due to extreme stress, my wife suffered a detachment of a retina and therefore had to receive a surgery. I remember my first son crying in my wife’s hospital.
interviewer: Although we are aware of some of the push factors, what were some factors that made you want to stay where you were?
interviewee: Fortunately I had worked in Ottawa for two years in the past. However, I have never thought of living there permanently. I knew that my family and I were going to have a hard time, trying to adapt to the new environment. Not only that, but also, we had to suffer from cultural difference. It felt like as if I’m borrowing and living in someone else's house. Also, the fact that we are from different country, put on a limitation in job opportunities. More than everything, the fact that we were forced to go really stressed us out.
interviewer: Thank you, Mr. Lee for your honest answers!
interviewee: No problem.
Bibliography
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